Denton City Contemporary Ballet

THE COMPANY

Denton City Contemporary Ballet (DCCB) was founded in 1989 by its Artistic Director, Lisa Racina-Torre. The company consists of 18 full company dancers, as well as 30 dancers in DCCB 2, and is a Texas 501 (C) 3 tax exempt corporation. Annual auditions are held each year at DDC open to ages 11 and up for those DDC dancers who want to pursue a pre-professional training route. The goals of DCCB are community enrichment, youth outreach, and professional development. It is with these goals in mind that the company sponsors the Annual COLLAGE Denton Dance Festival held each spring in downtown Denton’s historic district at the Campus Theatre bringing together guest choreographers, companies, and artists to the stage along with the dancers in DCCB.

DCCB also sponsors and provides the lead roles in the annual “A Gift for Emma” production. Bringing together professionals and young dancers on the same stage, this production provides a wonderful vehicle for training dancers, as well as entertaining the whole family with worthwhile themes of aspiring to become the best at something, working hard to achieve that goal, and finally, giving back to others the gifts that have been given.

In addition, the Denton City Contemporary Ballet also brings to the stage the beloved narrated story of “Peter and the Wolf,” as well as “Carnival of the Animals,” every other year. DCCB also sponsors the Denton City Contemporary Ballet Summer Study Scholarship given out annually through the Dance Council of North Texas every February. Over the past 25 years, the company’s Community Master Class Series has brought such world re-knowned teachers as Thom Clower, James Clouser, Olga Pavlova, Comfort Fedoke, Chris Koehl, Michele Gifford, and many more, to share their talents with the Denton dance community.

DCCB'S EDUCATIONAL TOURING PROGRAM

Every three years, starting in 2011, the Denton City Contemporary Ballet takes a big trip out of state, either to perform or to study, making our EDUCATIONAL TOURING PROGRAM both an outreach project as well as a professional developement project.

In the summers of 2011 & 2014, DCCB was invited to perform all over Austria with 9 other dance companies from around the United States. Our participation in the Young Tanzsommer Dance Festival was an opportunity of a lifetime for our dancers and choreographers to perform and present work in Europe. Along the way, we were able to drive through the Austrian Alps, sight-see in Venice, and meet so many wonderful people, dancers and audience alike. Our young dancers performed for Austrian school children, special needs children, and hundreds of tourists as well as Young Tanzsommer regulars.

This June 2017, DCCB went on an educational tour of New York City! We were able to take classes at Broadway Dance Center, Steps on Broadway, and the Alvin Ailey School. We had master classes from a current member of the Rockettes, two cast members of "Cats," and members of American Ballet Theater. We were also able to see Misty Copeland perform with ABT at Lincoln Center, attend Cats, see the Statue of Liberty & Ellis Island, the 9/11 Memorial Museum and the One World Trade Center Tower, visit the Brooklyn Bridge, and get a backstage tour of Radio City Music Hall! Our dancers were fabulous in classes and learned so much about some of the most world reknowned dance institutions in the country!